Selected Scenes for My Film's Trailer

1. The shooting of the president in the opening sequence with the ensuing chaos. This will function as the sign of the disruption to the equilibrium that stood before.
2. The POV shot from the President's view when dying, creating an emotional response and sense of severe loss in the audience.
3. The computer screen shot of all the rogue agents and their rank/role which establishes the villains in the trailer, crating binary opposites to the heroes and a clear discrimination barrier in the mind of the audience of who is to be supported and who should not be revered.
4. The titles with text early on in the trailer which are used to show a change in the tone of the trailer and in the plot where some form of help appears. The epic nature of the connotations also enthral the audience and create enigma as to what may happen following the previous events.
5. The group shot showing all the heroes in a slow-mo shot in an epic march away from battle shows their strength, skill and power as a team and is taken from the end of the movie, showing the eventual success.
6. The individual shots of each agent in their pursuits of the rogue agents and their ensuing fights maintains a high action presence in the trailer creating a high-octane atmosphere.
7. The use of the nuclear weapon and the quickly counting down timer adds suspense and adrenaline to the trailer, keeping the audience on edge and enticing them to engage more and calculate the possibilities.
8. The cackling laughter scene from the master villain however, right at the end adds a complete twist to the perceived storyline up until that point and maintains an enigmatic feel to the trailer as well as enticing the audience to watch the movie to find out.

My Completed Trailer Storyboard

Storyboard for my Film's Opening Sequence

Shotlist for my Film's Opening Sequence

Opening Sequence Shot List

Homework: Film Marketing Research Task

Strategies

Strategies include:

• Panasonic LED TV Adverts around release date
• Pre-release AVTR.com campaign joint with Coca-Cola and their Coke Zero brand
• Official Avatar Website
• A post-release multi-platform video game
• McDonald's Happy Meal Toys in a number of countries
• Post-release Mattel Toys action figures
• Actor John David Moore appearing on TV series "Bones" to promote film
• Pre-release exclusive images released in October Issue of Empire Magazine
• Pre-release screening of 3 1/2 minute trailer in Dallas Cowboys' Stadium
• Teaser Trailer online
• Various other trailers including official Theatrical Trailer screened and also shown online
• Various Posters
• Various Books related to the story to further background knowledge
• Visits by james Cameron and Sigourney Weaver to panels to promote the film

Trailers:

The trailers for Avatar were some of the most important, valuable and effective strategies utilized in the movies marketing campaign. This is because they displayed the visual spectacle upon which Avatar was based and sold the main draw-in to the audience. The online teaser trailer, is the all time most viewed teaser trailer on apple.com with 4 million views. Added to this, the broadcast of the 3 1/2 minute trailer in a dallas Cowboys American football Game in their home stadium became the largest live motion picture trailer viewing in history as it was broadcast live on Fox TV. The Teaser Trailer utilized the enigma factor using very little speech to get the audience to deduce themselves with implausible imagery etc.

 

Posters

These Posters again futhered the sensory touch with the visual graphic bombardment in one and a much simpler yet spectacular image in the other. These also both provide synergy by showing links to the webpage as well as establishing a branding point with 'blue people' and imagery becoming a recognisable feature for Avatar.

Promotion

The promotion of the film in one of the most popular magazines in the world created a huge amount of publicity for the film and also gave a sneak peak at the future motion picture. Again the branding with 'blue people' is present and the lack of oher detail again utilizes engima.

Audience Interaction

The audience is presented with plenty of oppurtunities to interact with the marketing campaign and the movie. The online experience is huge with fans able to scan codes from Coke Zero products or Mattel Toys action figures to access online character profiles and added online content. The regular adverts on the TV reinstated a connection between the audience and the film as it was constantly on their screens due to the huge hype around the film. The collaboration with popular brands to provide products or endorsements was a great move to associate themselves with other popular brands thus enticing the audience to not only dea with these brands but watch the movie, e.g. Coca-Cola, Panasonic, McDonalds, Empire etc.

Effectiveness of the Campaign

Overall I believe that the marketing campaign was a resounding success. The synergy displayed between the different mediums and the cross-media marketing campaign worked brilliantly to entive the audience and gain recognition worldwide, leading to the movie becoming the all time highest grossing film at cinemas. I can also recall a distinct hype during the time where it was almost considered a taboo if someone had not seen the movie, showing the effect the marketing campaign had clearly had on the audience.

Homework: Men and Women in Action Adventure Movies Moodboards

Men are presented as strong, charismatic, skilled, dominant roles throughout with some defining features when the hero, e.g. knowledge, martial art skills, good looks, witty humour etc. Only recently have we started to have some changes to the stereotypical macho man image such as Silvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzeneger characters and super skilled killing machine characters like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon etc with geekier, wimpier yet more knowledgeable characters like Shia Labouef and Johnny Depp. Weaponry still remains the main iconography with male and masculine characters in action adventure movies.

Women have been subverting the traditional weak image ever since Sigourney Weaver played Ripley in the Alien series, with sex symbols the main attraction with characters such as Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie although some still conform with the dependent images portrayed by Lois Lanae and Mary Jane from Superman and Spiderman. Women are presented much more as agile characters rather than gun-slinging ones, with Lara Croft and other Angelina Jolie characters fitting both in a much more feminine way than presented with male characters.

Pitch

View more presentations from actionadventure2010.

Homework: My Film Pitch (Changes)

Idea/Storyline



My idea for a new A-A movie is called 'The Conspiracy'. As the name suggests this relates to a massive and powerful conspiracy on a global scale. In the present day world, a group only known only as 'Hightower' (much like Nightingale from Spooks Series 8), are at the centre of the greatest and most deadly conspiracy the world has ever seen, whose members are placed in high power positions throughout the world's most powerful nations - e.g. Ministers, Chief of Police, Security Service Directors etc. Events begin to unfold when at a multi-national security services meeting where the world's largest security services are sharing information, several important figures are ruthlessly assassinated by Hightower including the CIA chief, NSA deputy director, MI5&6 officers as well as Chinese representatives etc. The events create huge tensions between the sides with the USA's national security level going to DEFCON 2 and public signs of aggression from rebel states such as North Korea and uprisings in seemingly stable countries such as Russia and in the Middle East.

A group of junior agents from most of the security services present decide to join forces and co-operate to unearth the mystery behind the events, although they remain suspicious of each other as they are weary that anyone could be involved in the conspiracy. As they return to their home nations, each of them continues to unearth information upon figures in their own agencies to the point at which they have managed to identify the perpetrators. However when they mount operations to capture each of these rogue agents at the same time so as to avoid tip-offs, they find that they have all mysteriously disappeared.


After rigorously tracking each of the perpetrators down all the agents find that they have gathered in one location and meet up once more to storm the Hightower stronghold on a remote pacific island. A huge invasion effort then ensues on the heavily defended island as the agents attempt to prevent Hightower from executing its missions to destabilise the Earth and create a mass world war. 

Once the agents arrive in the control centre an alarm suddenly goes off, warning the loyal agents that codes are being sent to a Pakistan Nuclear Silo to launch Nuclear Weapons at India and China. The agents realise that they must stop this otherwise the world will be plunged into a global thermo-nuclear war. As soon as they are about to undo the codes the rogue agents appear and each fights off with the betrayer of their own country. The rogues are defeated and the codes disarmed preventing war, but as everyone leaves the island, a mysterious masked figure emerges from the shadows and is seen in the last shot to be laughing menacingly through a distorted voice.

Todorov

Equilibrium -  Everything in the world appears to be normal at the beginning of the movie, with no recent terrorist attacks and a general sense of relaxation between the world's powers.

Disruption -  Sudden assassinations of key people and escalation in tensions leading to widespread anarchy and the potential breakdown of all diplomacy with the beginnings of a thermo-nuclear war imminent. This sparks the investigations and searches which encounter various diffculties along the way attempting to restore the equilibrium.

Restoration -  The equilibrium is restored eventually following the capture of the rogue agents, however this seems to be a false equilibrium due to the masked figure appearing from the shadows creating the belief that there is yet further disruption to the equilibrium in the future.

Propp

Heroes (Agents) -  Strong, intelligent male and female spies from all over the world and from different ethnicities and cultures who protect the 'good' of society and the world, reflecting positive aspects of a human personality.

Villains (Rogue Agents) -  Sinister, sly male and female agents who have become bitter from their years of experience and lack of recognition. Reflect jealousy, fear and destructive traits of the human personality.

Stars/Casting

Loyal Agents:

• Angelina Jolie - Russian FSB
• Jackie Chan - Chinese MSS
• Jessica Alba -CIA
• Johnny Depp - MI5
• Will Smith - Secret Service

 Rogue Agents: 

• Vinnie Jones - MI5
• Jet Li - Chinese MSS
• Sigourney Weaver - CIA
• Samuel L. Jackson - Secret Service
• Peter Stormare - Russian FSB 

Masked Mastermind:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger

Director - James Cameron
Producer - Steven Spielberg

Writer - George Lucas

Target Audience

The target audience of my movie will be teenagers of both genders and likewise for adults between the ages of 12 and 40.

Marketing Plan

The movie would be released in the Summer Holidays to achieve the largest viewing numbers. Posters would be set up on billboards, bus stops, underground stations and in cinemas a month before release. A taster trailer would be shown 6 months in advance of release with the TV trailer released a month before release. The website will be erected 3 months before release and after release will promote merchandise and the DVD. Online it will also be possible for fans to buy replicas of the gadgets found in the movie as well as caricatures. A week in advance of release we will set up a sponsorship deal with a radio station so that the film is promoted throughout that week. Release Date would be July 2012.

The Inspirations

• Swordfish
• Spooks (TV Programme)
• Thunderbirds
• Star Wars 
• The Expendables
  Many Others

Homework: A-A Clip Genre Analysis

Narrative

This movie follows Todorov's theory with a 3 part structure with Equilibrium, Disruption and Restoration. We are shown the equilibrium with the partners Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), when they are fighting crime. However almost immediately they are presented with the disruption that the supposed huge drug smuggling operation they were going to catch was in fact only 2 bags of drugs, and events develop from that point at which they are tracking down the bulk of the drugs that eluded them. Here they encounter a drug lord who claims to own Miami, with Marcus' sister Syd involved in a separate undercover mission to take him down. When trying to capture the drug baron, the operation takes a turn for the worse as Syd is kidnapped and Johnny Tapia escapes to Cuba. The restoration is when a team of elite commandos including Mike and Marcus arrive on Cuba and ambush Tapia's house. After a car chase, they successfully rescue Syd and kill Johnny Tapia.

• The movie features the typical themes surrounding a love interest between Mike (one of the heroes) and Syd (the princess), and the fight between good and evil between the police forces and the Johnny Tapia drug cartel.
• Typical actions and events include numerous shootouts as well as fast-paced car chases throughout, another common feature of many A-A films.

Iconography

Throughout the film we are presented with the common A-A iconography of guns and other weapons, military style clothing, blood and injuries as well as death, and the stereotypical clothing of characters such as Cuban drug smugglers in suits whilst Haitian gangsters are in jeans and mesh vests. These provide a key role throughout as they provide the power of suggestion with displaying the genre and general plot and progression of the story without having to use tedious dialogue. This is a very important feature throughout all A-A movies and is shown again in this case with the above mentioned typical iconography.

Character

Using Propp's theory, we can categorise many of the main characters into the categories of:

• Hero: Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) play these characters as the two crime-fighting special division police officers. However Mike fits the traditional hero role much more as he ends up with the princess character of the movie, and acts in a much more masculine and alpha-male way throughout with his fast expensive cars, designer clothes and driving/shooting skills, although Marcus actually pulls the trigger to kill Johnny Tapia.
• Villain: Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla) plays this role as a typical villain with more modern twists involving the drug smuggling business. He also towards the end of the movie kidnaps the princess character and so fits with the traditional view of a villain character.
• False Hero: Captain Howard plays this role as someone who is always on the good side of the good/bad idea with movies, however he restricts the two officers during their investigations and so prevents them from possibly concluding the story earlier.
• Princess: Syd (Gabrielle Union), Marcus' sister acts as the princess character in the movie. She is rescued by the heroes and their helpers and donors in Cuba and then kisses the hero Mike. However she also acts as a helper earlier on when she is undercover compiling a case against Johnny Tapia.
• Princess' Father: Marcus plays this role from the older brother perspective in the movie and there is obvious comedy created by Mike lying to his partner about what has happened in the past and his and Syd's relationship.
• Helpers & Donors: These act as the same at the end of the movie when Mike and Marcus along with the other officers part of their squad, as well as the DEA officers and other CIA officers who join forces with them. They all know that the mission they are attempting could end horribly but they still agree and they put their lives on the line to save Syd for Marcus and Mike.

  
  

  Setting

  
  

  The setting of the movie is mostly in the urban environment of Miami and it's coastline with the ending sequences set in Cuba. These fit the A-A genre with a typically famous place such as Cuba which is hostile for one of the settings and then the wealthy drug baron lifestyle one may live in a city like Miami. There is also a strong military presence but mostly police presence where the movie is set and this again adds to the connotations of crime and a good vs. evil fight as is common in A-A movies.

  
  

DYM HW feedback

Hi Rijul

You have shown very good understanding of the theories - well done.  Yes, the Fockers narrative can be boiled down to Gregg and fiancee's life - parents meet - everyone is reconciled.  Your blog is also well presented, so keep this up.

Homework: Genre and Narrative Analysis: Meet The Fockers (2004)

Genre

'Meet the Fockers' is a movie from the comedy genre. It was famed as one of the most popular movies of the year when it was released, due to its outrageous comedy. This is one of the defining characteristics of the movie which displays its genre, with the scenes in the above video supporting this idea, with sexual references and the often abnormal behaviour of the Focker family. When we as an audience see comedy movies, we expect similar stereotypes, with outrageous behaviour or embarrassing circumstances a common feature now.

Characters (Propp)

• Hero: Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) - a nurse who after the first movie seems to be having a successful life with his fiancee and together with her and her parents embarks on a holiday to stay at his parents' home. Here he fights embarrassment to gain his fiancees hand in marriage and win over her father.
• Villain/The Princess' Father/The False Hero: Jack Byrnes (Robert de Niro) - a retired CIA agent who is Greg's fiance's father. He strictly observes all happenings in the Focker family and frequently shows his distaste for Greg. He eventually believes he has shown Greg to be a terrible man, but is in the end disproved. He claims to be doing the best throughout the movie for his daughter but in the end it shown that really he wasn't.
• Princess: Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo) - Greg's fiancee and the woman he wishes to marry and who is revealed to be carrying his child. She sticks by Greg throughout the movie until towards the end where the evidence seems to show him as a poor character, but she eventually returns to him.
• The Donor: Greg's mother and father, Roz and Bernie Focker (Barbara Streisand & Dustin Hoffman) - act as the donors by offering their home for the weekend and by attempting to act normal for the weekend to help Greg's cause.
• The Helper: Pam's mother, Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner) - she helps the couple throughout and attempts to prevent Jack from doing what he does.

Narrative (Todorov)

• Equilibrium: At first Greg's life seems to be going quite well with work and his private life, after the shenanigans of the first movie. He has managed to arrange a weekend at which his and his fiancee Pam's parents can meet and spend time together to bond.
• Disruption: However early on we are presented with Pam's Father - Jack - and his militant attitude again towards Greg and the Focker family. He declares that he will be observing the Focker family to see whether he thinks they are suitable for his own family. Consequently a number of embarrassing occurrences are used to show the breakdown in the relationships between the Fockers and Byrneses, and this results in Greg and Pam falling out towards the end of the film.
• Restoration: Towards the end of the film, certain truths are revealed such as Greg is not the father of Ray Santiago, and that Jack has been subjecting the Focker family to criticism when in fact he himself has many faults. Greg and Pam's love is restored and they are wedded by Pam's ex-fiance from the first movie, Kevin (Owen Wilson).